1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to die cutting machines and, more particularly, to a semi automated template controlled hole punch.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Beams, such as structural H beams, are joined to one another by mechanical attachment devices, such as rivets or nut and bolt sets. The H beams are profiled in accordance with the assembly requirements and holes are formed in the ends of the beams to accommodate the mechanical attachment devices. The locations of these holes are usually predetermined by construction standards commensurate with the size of the H Beams, load requirements and related well established criteria.
A long established method for forming the holes includes the use of cutting torches wielded by skilled craftsmen. This procedure produces a satisfactory result but it is time consuming and the accuracy of both the size and position of the holes is a function of the skill of the craftsman.
In an effort to minimize the dependency upon the skill of a craftsman to develop holes in structural beams and to ensure uniformity of the size and location of a plurality of holes, a die cutting machine illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,898 was developed by the present inventor. In this machine, a hydraulically operated punch performs a die cutting operation to create the holes. The position of the holes is controlled by a template having the number and location of the holes to be cut formed therein. A manually operated arm includes a pin for serially engaging the holes in the template. The punch and associated supporting structure is on a pair of rollers to permit manually induced translation of the die cutting machine across the end of the beam to be die cut in correspondence with the holes in the template. Manually operated means are described for vertically positioning the punch and die commensurate with the beam to be cut. The die cutting machine works as intended but it is awkward to use because of the requirement to manually translate the very robust and heavy die cutting machine from the position of one hole to the position of the next hole as dictated by the template.